Gifts
by StarWarrior72
Summary: After his brief time aligned with the Dark Side of the Force, Anakin has been imprisoned within the Jedi Temple without news from the outside. The days stream by without his noticing, but today seems to be here to jolt him out of his stupor. ONESHOT


Anakin paced back across his room. He had been doing this for several hours now. Food prep to bed, bed to food prep. It would probably have made more sense for him to climb onto the treadmill sitting in the corner, but he couldn't work up the enthusiasm to change the pattern. For the billionth time, he wished that the room had at least one window. But, of course, it didn't. That would have been dangerous, it would have been an opportunity to escape.

Not that he would have survived the fall. He looked down at the cuffs, feeling the collar digging at his neck. Dampening devices. Freedom was nearly a forgotten dream. Some days, he almost forgot that there was a galaxy beyond the walls of his prison. He had no outlet to it. The holonet receiver had a powerful filter Anakin had yet to find a way to override that kept him from the news. He was never allowed out, and the council members refused to discuss it with him. The Jedi Council was the only contact he had with any beings. One member came every day, a simple, tidy rotation. But despite the very predictable pattern, it always seemed that Obi-Wan came less than the others, and that Mace Windu came more than his share.

Of course, Windu would never volunteer to be near Anakin. His first visit had been tense, uncomfortable for both of them, and they had not improved from there. The Koran Jedi always seemed to be displaying his robotic hand, and the one time Anakin had objected to this, saying that it was not nearly as bad as he was making it seem, showing his own metallic extremity, he had been shot down so completely that he was ashamed of even showing his hand now.

All of the council was wary of him. Even Obi-Wan rarely smiled at him, there was no laughter. When his old master spoke to him, however, there was always that gentle edge of concern that had long grated on Anakin. Now, he was glad of it. He had never realized how much he needed it until he had been cut off from most sources of caring. The others never displayed it. Plo Koon, with whom Anakin had formed a tentative friendship over their shared caring for Ahsoka had treated him as a stranger, save the day he told Anakin the news that Ahsoka had returned. Anakin wished it was her visiting.

But he couldn't blame the council. Not most of them, anyway. No, the identifiable source of the problem was Windu. To hear the Jedi tell it, you would never have believed that after amputating Windu's hand he had panicked and turned his blade on Palpatine. There wasn't a chance in Hell that you would believe that he had caught the falling Jedi in the Force and brought him back inside to safety, shaking, and apologizing profusely.

And, as for Anakin, he couldn't bring himself to believe that Master Windu was entirely human. He seemed to be lacking a soul, considering his reaction had not been thanks, but instant deprecation, causing Anakin to want to push him back out of the window. He hadn't. He had given himself to the Jedi Master's unkind words, terrified by the Dark Side power he had felt for that brief moment.

And he had been tried. And found guilty. And sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment and separation from the galaxy he had worked so hard to free.

He gave a sigh and dropped onto his bed. The worst part of it all was that he still didn't know what had happened to Padmé. He had begged Obi-Wan to tell him, but Obi-Wan had averted his gaze and mumbled that he wasn't allowed to talk about it. Again, Anakin had felt the awful power and voice of the Dark Side, telling him to force Obi-Wan to tell him. Anakin had fought it down, and turned away.

He missed Padmé so terribly. She had been his angel, his reason to go on living for so long. And then, suddenly, she was gone. And their baby… he didn't know if Padmé had survived the birth, or the baby. He had given up trying to beg for information. He dreamt of them each night, blissful fantasy mixed with torturous nightmares. His only consolation was that without the Force, those dreams were not prophesies. He considered going over to the holonet and watching one of the children's programs he watched in his attempt to feel like a father.

And he _was_ a father, whether his wife and child had survived or not. He had to keep reminding himself. He was no longer Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Clone Wars, the Chosen One, the Hero With No Fear. No longer a Jedi with a perfectly concealed marriage and a perfect wife. He was now Anakin Skywalker, ex-Jedi, part-time Sith, prisoner of Order and Peace, and a father.

He walked to the holonet and flicked it on, choosing one of the better children's programs. He watched for a few minutes, recognizing the old themes that told him that today was Life Day. He wondered what his wife and child were doing just now. They would have probably been separated at birth, the child dragged into the Order, but Anakin ignored this. For the sake of his sanity, his child had to be free, with their mother.

There was a sudden whooshing noise from one of the elevators, and Anakin hurriedly flipped channels to something a little more mature and flicked the unit off, standing up and beginning to pace once more. He would not have them know that he was watching children's programming in his abundant free time.

He had just finished calculating that it was, to his relief, Obi-Wan who would be visiting today when the elevator door opened.

Obi-Wan stepped into the room just before the door of the lift closed, and it whooshed away. Obi-Wan had changed very little in the time of Anakin's imprisonment. He was more serious now, and even more cautious than he had been before, but was exactly the same man who had trained Anakin in all other respects.

Anakin stopped pacing, and turned back to look at Obi-Wan. As usual, Obi-Wan looked skittish and uncomfortable, but what drew Anakin's attention was the small boy in his arms. Anakin stared at the boy, stunned, and Obi-Wan stared back at him. The boy waited a couple of moments before climbing down the Jedi Master and walking to Anakin.

Anakin dropped to one knee, looking into the young face in amazement. The boy stopped before him, and blinked once, then his gaze travelled up Anakin, and at last, he smiled. More amazed than ever, Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan, "He smiled at me," he said in amazement.

Obi-Wan gave one of his all-too-rare smiles, "Of course he did. After all, you're his fa-,"

"Daddy," the boy interrupted, "You're my daddy."

Anakin stared at him. He felt himself sinking down onto the floor properly. His son, before him after all this time… the child was both younger and older than Anakin had expected. It felt to Anakin as though he had been trapped in his cell his whole life, and because his imprisonment had started just before the child must have been born, he had thought that the child had been born longer ago than this boy indicated. However, he had never thought of his son growing so much in so short a time as a few years…

The little boy was clambering up over Anakin's legs to wrap little arms around his neck. Once firmly attached, he spoke again, "My name is Luke," he told Anakin.

Anakin knelt, stunned. He thought that he should probably hug the little boy back, but he couldn't make his stone arms move. Luke was a small child, blonde, blue-eyed. He was dressed in navy blue overalls and a light orange t-shirt. He was wearing a miniature pair of boots, and he carried a light jacket over his tiny shoulder.

After a long pause, Luke reminded Anakin, "You're my daddy."

Anakin nodded, "Yes, I am."

"I've missed you," Luke said.

At the words, Anakin remembered how to use his arms. He hugged his son very tightly, then released him, pried him off, and, standing up, tossed him in the air. Luke laughed, trying to grab Anakin's arms every time he was caught, only to be launched again.

As the peels of childish laughter, Anakin felt genuine joy. He hadn't felt such a thing in years. He found himself laughing as well, catching Luke again, and spinning him. Obi-Wan wisely moved away from the spinning child. When Anakin grew bored of that as well, he hugged his son again. Luke seemed not to have any complaints about being treated like this, so Anakin carried him back to his bed where Obi-Wan had seated himself and sat down.

He rested Luke on his knees, bouncing the little boy. As Luke giggled, Anakin turned to Obi-Wan, "You've never even told me he's alive. What made you bring him today?"

Again, Obi-Wan smiled, "He did. He got it into his head that he wanted to come see you, and he wouldn't let go of me unless I promised to bring him."

"So you did?" Anakin asked, surprised, "I thought you were a bit stronger willed than that."

Obi-Wan looked at the bouncing child, "I am… less brave when it comes to denying your children what they want."

"Children?" Anakin asked, his heart soaring.

"Twins," Obi-Wan replied simply, "Luke, and his sister, Leia."

"And Padmé?" Anakin said.

"Mommy's doin' good," Luke said between giggles, "But Obi's not allowed to tell you that."

"Is that true?" Anakin asked, looking at Obi-Wan still. He only wanted confirmation that Padmé was, even by grown-up standards, all right.

Obi-Wan seemed to be choosing his words carefully, "I'm not allowed to tell you that."

Anakin smiled. He gathered Luke again, setting him between himself and Obi-Wan. The little boy immediately crawled back onto his lap. Anakin simply cradled him, "How are Mommy and Leia?" he asked the boy.

"Mommy's all right," Luke informed his father, "She's been playing with us tons this week, 'cause it's Life Day. Leia an' Mommy an' me go running all around the house, an' we play blasters, an' house, an' hopscotch, an' board games!"

Anakin smiled, "I'm glad you've been having so much fun."

"We've been doing crafts in pre-school," Luke continued, "But I forgot to bring you any. Sorry. We made rings an' strings outa branches an' berries an' ribbon! An' we made tops an' cookies an'…" he seemed to be running out of information, "An' board games! We made board games! I made mine all about makin' _cookies!_ You hafta get all the ingredients an' then you hafta find a recipe an' heat up the oven, an' then make icing an' decorate them!"

Anakin nodded, "That sounds like fun."

"It _is!_ I did that 'cause we made cookies the next day! We made sugar cookies, an' gingerbread, an' oatmeal, an' chocolate chip! I like sugar cookies best, but Leia likes oatmeal. Mommy doesn't like cookies at all, did you know that? I didn't. I'm still tryin' to get her to eat one!"

"Exactly how many of those cookies did you eat?" Anakin asked jokingly, poking his son's nose.

"Lots!" Luke said enthusiastically, grabbing his father's finger.

"Could've guessed _that_," Anakin said, "Have you slept at all in the last few days?"

"Every night," Luke answered, "I don't like naptime, though. I think I'm too big for nap time. Did they make you have naptime?"

Bemused, Anakin shook his head.

"Lucky," Luke said, jumping down from Anakin's lap, running over to Obi-Wan, all of a foot and a half away, and demanded to be lifted. Obi-Wan obliged.

"Always full of energy," Obi-Wan noted as Luke scrambled up to be draped over his shoulder. As the little boy slid over head first, Anakin caught him, putting him belly down on his head. Luke roared with laughter and grabbed fistfuls of his father's hair.

"I'm gonna go see Wedge after!" Luke declared, sliding down his father's shoulder and back into Obi-Wan's arms, "Mommy said we were gonna go to Corellia after! You've ever been to Corellia?" Without giving his father a chance to respond, Luke barrelled onwards, "I never have. I can't wait! They're not super happy with the Republic right now, but that's gonna be okay. Mommy said so. She said she's just gotta talk to 'em a bit an' they'll get it better. You wanna come?"

"I-," Anakin started.

"Oh, yeah, you can't," Luke turned abruptly to Obi-Wan, "Can he come? Can he? Can he? Please?"

Obi-Wan looked startled at having been turned to, "It's not my choice," he told Luke gently.

"It's a bit your choice. I want Daddy to come with us. Tell them he should come!"

"Tell who?"

"The Council!" Luke said, as though it were completely obvious, "Tell 'em why he should come! C'mon, they want everyone equal, right? How can I be equal without my daddy?"

Obi-Wan had progressed to visibly squirming, "Luke, it's not that simple…"

"It is to me!"

Anakin scooped his son up, "Come on, don't guilt Obi-Wan."

"Leave that to your father," Obi-Wan said, sounding relieved.

At the words, Anakin changed his mind, "Never mind. Guilt Obi-Wan," he said, setting Luke down in front of his old master. "Ready, set, GO!"

Luke immediately widened his eyes, looking up at Obi-Wan with one of the most effective uses of puppy dog eyes Anakin had ever seen. Obi-Wan covered his eyes, and turned away.

"Stop him, Anakin," he said, "He knows I hate it when he looks at me like that."

"Why do you hate it so much?" Anakin asked.

"It reminds me of you when you were sad," Obi-Wan answered, face still covered, "I always hated seeing you look like that."

"I looked like _that_?" Anakin asked in amazement.

"Maybe not quite as wide-eyed," Obi-Wan amended, "I don't like seeing your family sad."

"I'm gonna stay sad as long as I don't have a daddy!" Luke warned.

This seemed like fighting a little bit dirty, and Anakin turned the little boy away, "Okay, this time we really are going to leave Obi-Wan alone."

Obi-Wan uncovered his eyes, "We had better be leaving. We don't want to miss our transport."

Anakin watched in stunned sadness as Luke was gathered up, waving an eager goodbye to his father. It had seemed as though… he had thought that… Luke was staying. Anakin waved back, then hurried forward to give his son a quick kiss.

"Kiss Mommy and Leia for me."

"Give me kisses for them," Luke answered.

Anakin kissed the little boy twice more and watched as they stepped into the lift. As his son was whisked away from him, he sat down on his bed. Just this morning, he had thought that he would never know if his child was alive, and now he knew that he had two, and that they were healthy, along with his wife. He was so glad for them, but he was sad too. Without knowing, he had been able to imagine the child living happily with their mother, never knowing what they were missing, but Luke had clearly wanted him, and Anakin couldn't shake a feeling that the departure of their transport should have relied on when he was good and ready to fly.

He went to the food prep and typed the code for it to make cookies, thinking of Luke's enthusiasm over them. He took one and sat down, nibbling on it slowly. It had long stopped bothering him how flavourless the food preps meals were, but the lack of taste in the cookie seemed more lacking, more… of a loss.

_An appropriate analogy of my life. Dreary at best. Downright pathetically washed out when it comes to anything special._

He put the cookie down. He walked instead to the treadmill, needing to run. As he watched the speed, he thought again of it being like a hamster wheel, another thought that hadn't bothered him in months.

_Here I am, running at top speed, going nowhere._

He climbed off. Nothing in the apartment interested him. He had never really been interested in holovision programs. All forms of video games had long lost interest. He had no attention span for reading at the moment. Meditation? Ha.

In fact, only one thing drew his attention. He had draped a blanket over it shortly after having arrived in the little prison, knowing it would only make him feel loss to use it. But now, he found himself walking back to it. He flipped the blanket off of the workbench, and picked up a few spare parts. They were the beginning to an upgrade for the food prep, he remembered with a smile. Something he had started putting together almost immediately after his first meal.

He took some tools, and began to work on it. Luke would have been interested, he thought. Imagine; something that could make cookies without a recipe!

He was just finishing the little device when he heard the whoosh of another lift. He ignored it. He had one visit daily, a very prescribed routine. Whoever was on that lift would not make the second lift ride down to his cell, conveniently located just under the Council Chamber.

Suddenly, though, there was another whoosh, and something small attached itself to Anakin, "Daddy!" the something said loudly.

Anakin looked down at his son and laughed, scooping him up, "I guess you missed your flight, didn't you?"

"We certainly did."

Anakin spun, leaping to his feet, "_Padmé!_" he ran to her, and hugged her tightly, "Force, Padmé, I've missed you so much!"

"What about me?" demanded a little girl's voice from Padmé's legs.

Anakin released his wife and dropped to the ground, taking the girl's shoulders in his hands, "You must be Leia!"

"Yeah," the girl said, seeming to forgive him as she smiled.

Anakin hugged her as well. Then Luke decided that he wasn't getting his fair share of hugging and slipped into Anakin's arms as well.

"But why are you all here?" Anakin asked, looking up at his wife, "And how?"

"We need a new pilot, don't we?" Obi-Wan's disembodied voice said, just as he stepped out of the turbolift.

"But-," Anakin started, "The Council! Do they know?"

"No, and I'd like to leave before they find out," Obi-Wan answered, already ushering the children back into the lift, "Unless you desperately want to stay, of course."

"Of course not," Anakin said, dumping the contents of the drawers of his dresser into a laundry bag, "Let's go."

Obi-Wan stepped into the lift after the children, and Anakin put his arm around Padmé, gently guiding her into the turbolift. As the turbolift began to rise, Anakin stumbled, having forgotten the sensation.

Looking over at him, Obi-Wan commented wryly, "I hope you haven't forgotten how to fly."

Regaining his balance, Anakin stood straight again, "Of course not. Some things, you don't forget," he said, dropping the bag of his clothes so he could hug Padmé properly.


End file.
